Samuel Thomas "Tom" Stevens Jr., 89, once designated by The
Freeman as "the Cal Ripken of city government" in Waukesha, died
Tuesday, Jan. 3, 2012, at Avalon Square from complications of Alzheimer’s
disease. A professional engineer who spent his entire career with
Wisconsin Bell Telephone Company, he held volunteer positions with the
Waukesha Parks and Recreation Board and the city Plan Commission for more
than 34 consecutive years, serving with mayors Owens, Eshman, Vrakas,
LaPorte, Keenan and Opel.

Stevens saw the boundaries of Waukesha expand enormously and its
population grow by 83 percent during his tenure. He was instrumental in
formulating the progressive land use policies that helped the city achieve
international recognition as one of the "Best Places to Live" in
the United States. As board member and then chairman of the Parks and Rec
Board, he worked to conceive and implement a city ordinance that required
developers to dedicate a portion of new residential tracts to park use,
ensuring that the city’s park system would grow proportionately with its
population and create additional facilities easily accessible to all new
residents. "What we have here is as good as anywhere," he
proudly told The Freeman on his retirement from the Parks and Rec Board in
1990.

At Wisconsin Bell, Stevens was effectively Ma Bell’s real estate
developer in Wisconsin, responsible for the development, construction and
remodeling of all Bell telephone buildings and communications towers in
the entire state. As a result, he traveled extensively, working through
local land use requirements, hiring architects and construction firms to
build telephone company facilities, and solving the inevitable problems
that arose during the process. This led to his deep understanding of
developers’ points of view and an appreciation for the complexities they
faced.

While serving on the two city agencies dealing most closely with land
use issues, Stevens combined his professional expertise with his strong
sense of public interest and affection for Waukesha, "the nicest
place I can think of to live in," as he told The Freeman on his
retirement from the Plan Commission in 1996. His successor, Parks and Rec
Board Chairman Tom Vitale, told The Freeman, "I think the greatest
quality he lends to the city of Waukesha is his love of this city. He is
Waukesha-oriented and can see the big picture of Waukesha." Personal
friend and former Mayor Paul Vrakas described Stevens as knowledgeable,
honest and straight-forward: "Those are the qualities that are really
important when you’re making decisions on a board like this."

He loved applying his professional skills and experience to Waukesha’s
benefit during its high growth years - whether counseling developers on
what would or would not succeed, personally inspecting new park
facilities, helping his wife Bettie convert the underutilized basement of
the First Presbyterian Church to The Caring Place Adult Day Care facility,
or working through the technical problems of growth and development in the
city. He once called the Albanese family to point out that although
neither a restaurant nor a tavern was permissible at their site on
Bluemond Road, a "roadhouse" would be perfectly legal; so "Albanese’s
Roadhouse" it was, as it is today.

Stevens was born Oct. 9, 1922, in Indianapolis, to Samuel Thomas
Stevens Sr. and Mildred Currens Stevens. He attended grammar and junior
high school in Milwaukee, and then Madison East High School for four years
before graduating in 1941.During World War II, he served in the Signal
Headquarters Company for the U.S. Army Air Forces (prior to the creation
of the U.S. Air Force), establishing forward airfield communications for
the Eighth Fighter Command as U.S. forces captured Pacific islands in the
battles of Luzon, New Guinea, Eastern Mandates, Bismarck Archipelago,
Western Pacific and the liberation of the Philippines. He attended the
University of Wisconsin before beginning a 40-year career at Wisconsin
Bell.

Stevens moved his family to Waukesha in 1956 and joined the First
Presbyterian Church, which he later served as a trustee, elder of the
session and church school teacher. He delivered Meals on Wheels to
mobility-impaired clients for many years after that program was launched
locally by his wife Bettie and others from their church. He was active in
the Waukesha Civic Theatre and Early Risers of the Kiwanis Club.

His love for the city of Waukesha was surpassed only by his love for
his large and extended family, for whom he was the proud patriarch even in
his final years of failing health. He is survived by his wife of 63 years,
Palma Willgrubs ("Bettie") Stevens, and by six children, their
spouses and 13 grandchildren: Gary and Kay Stevens of Chevy Chase, Md.,
and their sons Ben, Chris and Samuel T. Stevens III; Dennis and Sharon
Stevens of Waukesha and their children Sean, Stewart and Sarah Stevens
Wyne; Thomas Tracy and Terry Ann Stevens of Waukesha; Jan Stevens Larson
and Brad Larson of Maple Valley, Wash., and their sons Jay, U.S. Army
Staff Sgt. Shawn Larson and U.S. Marine Technical Sgt. Kevin Larson; Gene
and Katie Stevens of Oconomowoc and their sons Michael and David; and Jill
Stevens West and Kevin West of Loveland, Colo., and their children Kate
and U.S. Marine Lance Cpl. Thomas West. He is also survived by his
sister-in-law, Ruth Ann Unseth of Drummond; his brother-in-law, George
Willgrubs of Palermo, N.D.; six great-grandchildren; and many friends
throughout the state of Wisconsin.

The Stevens family wishes to extend special recognition and gratitude
to the extraordinary staff of Avalon Square and the dedicated
professionals at Compassionate Care Hospice for their support and
excellent care.

Visitation will be held from noon until the 2 p.m. memorial service
Saturday, Jan. 21, at the First Presbyterian Church of Waukesha, 810 N.
East Ave., Waukesha, WI 53186. A brief reception at the church will follow
the service.

In lieu of followers, memorial donations can be made in Mr. Stevens’s
name to Avalon Square, 222 Park Place, Waukesha, WI 53186, to the First
Presbyterian Church, or to the nonprofit organization of the donor’s
choice.

For further information, please call Randle-Dable-Brisk Funeral,
Cremation and Preplanning Services at 547-4035, or go to www.waukeshafunerals.com
to leave the family an online tribute message.